Abstract

We report the results of a long-term multi-sited field trial of a
situated awareness device for families called the 'Whereabouts Clock'. The
clock displayed family members' current locations as one of four privacypreserving,
deliberately coarse-grained categories: 'Home', 'Work', 'School', or
'Out'. In use, the clock supported not only family co-ordination but also more
emotive aspects of family life - such as reassurance, connectedness, identity and
social touch. This emphasized aspects of family life frequently neglected in
ubicomp - particularly the ways in which families' awareness of each others'
times and schedules contributes to a sense of identity as a family. We draw
further on the trial results to differentiate between location as a technical aspect
of awareness systems and what we characterise as location in interaction.
Location in interaction is revealed as an emotional, accountable and even moral
part of family life.